Laminate assemblies having stacks of laminations are used in a variety of applications, such as fuel cell and electrolyzer applications. Sealing the interfaces between laminations of the laminate assembly desirably prevents overboard leakage of operating fluids from the laminate assembly and cross-cavity leakage of operating fluids from internal cavities established within the laminate assembly. Laminate assemblies utilize various seals to limit overboard and cross-cavity leakage. Example seals include elastomeric coating seals, gasket seals, or relying on the elastic nature of membrane laminations. Notably, these seals rely on an applied load pressurizing the seal to prevent leakage.
Many systems having laminate assemblies apply a preload to the laminate assembly using tie rods. Tightening the tie rods forces the laminations of the laminate assembly and associated seals into a sealed relationship with each other. The maximum amount of preload is limited by the compression capacity of the laminations. After the preload is applied, the internal cavities within the laminate assembly are pressurized. As known, the pressurizing can relax or otherwise disrupt the sealed relationship because the internal pressure forces the laminations against the direction of the preload. Disrupting the sealed relationship can undesirably result in leaks.